


For Better or For Worse

by Ruuger



Series: Episode tags for The Mentalist [6]
Category: The Mentalist
Genre: Episode Tag, Episode: s03e15 Red Gold, Gen, Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-30
Updated: 2014-09-30
Packaged: 2018-02-19 09:15:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2382959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruuger/pseuds/Ruuger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jane and Hightower have a talk after "Red Gold".</p>
            </blockquote>





	For Better or For Worse

She was just waiting for the elevator, when she realised that she hadn't seen Jane since they'd come back. She debated with herself for a few seconds, but when the elevator door finally opened, instead of stepping in, she turned around and lead Mimi and Will back into the bullpen. 

“Look after your brother for a few minutes, Mimi," she said, sitting them down on Jane's couch. "I need to have a word with Mister Jane.”

Predictably, she found her missing consultant on the attic. He was lying on his makeshift bed, reading what looked like a book on poetry. When she knocked on the doorframe to catch his attention, he sat up, quickly slipping the book under his pillow.

”How’s your ear?” she asked, ignoring the all too innocent look on his face that suggested his reading material probably hadn't been as innocuous as it had seemed. 

Jane flashed her a bright smile. “Still ringing, thank you for asking. The next time you come swooping to my rescue, could you by any chance do it before I’m being held at gunpoint?”

She tilted her head, raising an eyebrow. “Or how about the next time you come up with one your ridiculous plans, you give me more than five minutes of heads up so that I can call for back-up before the guy pulls a gun at you?”

“You make a very persuasive point. I’ll think about it.” He made a show of stretching his neck and then tilted his head to look at her. "So what brings you to my humble abode?"

"I know how much you enjoy doing your Lone Ranger act, but Jeff wanted to say his thanks."

Jane's smile widened. "You've been talking to Lisbon about me. I'm flattered."

"Don't be."

Jane was quiet for a few seconds, looking at in a way that her made her uncomfortable, like he really was reading her mind. 

"Why are you really here?" He finally asked.

"Just the thanks. You did good today. It's not often that I can say that without any disclaimers or corollaries."

Feeling self-conscious under Jane's unwavering gaze, she turned to leave. She was almost out the door when she hear his voice behind her.

“Getting a divorce doesn’t mean that you’ve failed anyone, Madeline.”

She considered just ignoring him and walking away, but found that she couldn't. She turned around to face him again. 

”But it still hurts.”As much as she'd tried to deny it, she really did need to talk to someone, and though Jane wasn't her first choice, she somehow knew she could trust him with this. As strange as it seemed. "You promise to love them for ever. For better or for worse-"

"-until death do us part,” Jane finished, a flicker of sadness flashing on his face.

She was about to apologise, but he shook his head.

“It’s okay.” He was quiet for a few seconds, and she noticed that he was twisting his ring, a gesture that made him seem unusually vulnerable. 

“My wife she... uh, she almost left me," he finally said. His voice was quiet, lacking its usual bravado. “It was about two years before... before she died. She hated what I did for a living, loathed it. She begged me to stop, but I wouldn’t even listen to her until she told me that if I didn’t, she would take Charlotte and leave. I talked her out of it, even stopped taking clients for a while, but then when they asked me to help catch Red John, I-” He'd been watching her, but now he looked away, almost as if ashamed. ”If she’d left, they’d still be alive.”

His confession caught her by surprise, and for a moment she wondered if he was lying; if this was just some elaborate game of his. But if there was anything she'd learned about him during the past year, it was that he would not lie about his family. He might use the truth to manipulate, but he'd never lie. "You can't know that."

He looked at her again, the faint smile on his lips doing nothing to disguise the sadness in his eyes. She sat down on the make-shift bed next to him.

“Did she love you?”

He shook his head. “I don’t-”

She didn't let him finish. “C’mon, Patrick. You’re the man with all the answers. Did she love you?”

“Yes.”

“And it’s obvious that you loved her.”

Again he tried to object, but she held his gaze until he was forced to admit it. "Yes."

"So there you go." She touched his shoulder, and to her surprise he flinched at her touch, as if he'd expected her to hit him instead. She shook her head. ”Nobody’s better off alone.”  
“You’re not alone.”

“No, I’m not. I still have Mimi and Will, and I thank the Lord every day for that."

And as she said those words, she realised that she meant it. It didn't matter what she had done, or what her husband had done. She had Mimi and Will, and for that alone, everything had been worth it.

When she looked at Jane, he was smiling again, his expression at the same time both sad and arrogant, and she knew that while everything he'd said was true, it didn't mean that he hadn't manipulated her. Not out of malice, but simply because he could, and because in his own twisted way he would see it as doing her a favour. He'd gotten her exactly where he wanted, though - she suspected - at a greater cost to himself than he had expected.

She stood up again, unable to decide if she should be feeling angry or thankful. ”You know I could have workplace resources lock this place up.”

“You could, but you won’t.”

She tilted her head. “And why’s that?”

“Because I’m handsome and charming and you like me.” He raised his hand before she could object. “And because when I’m up here, there's less of a chance of me pissing off some self-important bigwig who happens to be passing by the office."

She couldn't help the smile tugging her lips. "You make a very persuasive point. I’ll think about it. Goodnight, Jane. Don't stay up too late."

She headed for the door, but he again called after her: "Your husband’s a fool, Madeline.” 

She stopped for a second, but didn't turn around. “And your wife wasn’t. Remember that, Patrick.”


End file.
